Linux-Voice-Issue-001

FEATURE FREE SOFTWARE
DEBIAN 8.0
FREEZE
It looks like we won’t see
Debian 8.0 this year,
which isn’t surprising
given the distro’s long
gaps between releases.
One of the biggest
8changes will be the
switch to a new boot-up
system: the old init
scripts will be replaced
by systemd or Upstart
(as used in Ubuntu). A
debate is taking place
about the possible boot
systems, and Debian 8.0
won’t be frozen (closed
for new features) until
November, so there’s
lots of time to decide.
DIGIKAM 4.0
Arguably the best open
source photo manager
in existence, Digikam is
going from strength to
strength. The 4.0 release
– due to be released in
May – brings oodles of
new features thanks to
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the Google Summer of
Code. Working with tags
will be much easier via
a new hierarchical tags
manager and drag-anddrop
capabilities in the
Tags Manager, while
Pick Labels can be used
to auto-tag images.
Nepomuk support has
been re-implemented,
after being broken for a
while. www.digikam.org
EDWARD SNOWDEN
To some he’s a true American patriot,
9fighting to defend the US constitution
against attacks by a spy-crazy
government. To others he’s a thricecursed
traitor who revealed confidential
intelligence information to the rest of
the world, harming American interests.
In any case, there’s no doubt that
Edward Snowden’s leaks have caused a
huge debate – not just in the US but
around the world.
Whether it makes us safer or not, the
sheer amount of spying on their
citizens that governments are doing is
shocking. Edward Snowden hasn’t
come out waving Linux flags and
championing open source, but a lot of
people are starting to ask: can I really
trust my software? Can I be sure that
GNU HACKERS’
MEETING 2014
The GNU Hacker’s
Meeting is an event to
discuss technical, social
and organisational
issues relating to Free
Software and the GNU
Project. It will take place
on 15–17 September in
Munich at the Technical
University, and while it’s
free to attend, you have
to register, at www.gnu.
org/ghm/2014.
Anyone can give
presentations ranging
from 30–60 minutes, so
if you’ve been working on
a piece of software you’d
like to see in GNU, let the
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community know.
2013’s Software Freedom Day saw a huge number of
events across the whole globe.
Microsoft, Apple, Google et al are really
doing their best to defend my data?
How much are these companies
sharing with governments?
Linux and Free Software is no
panacea, but at least the openness of
its source code provides reassurance
that dodgy back-doors added by
intelligence agencies would be spotted
quickly. The NSA revelations provide
useful ammunition for Linux advocates:
we can confidently say “Our software is
very unlikely to be spying on us,
because we can read the source code”.
There are more Snowden leaks due in
2014, and they will drive more people to
investigate Linux and Fre Software.
There’s even a Snowden tribute distro:
www.binaryemotions.com/snowden.
Edward Snowden’s leaks are
encouraging some people to
try Free Software.
image: Laura Poitras / Praxis Films
SOFTWARE FREEDOM DAY
We all try to spread the word about Linux and FOSS,
but sometimes it’s difficult, especially over the
internet. So every September, Free Software
supporters organise real-world events to promote the
benefits and values of FOSS, and everyone is
welcome to get involved. You could set up an
installfest, for instance, where curious Windows or
Mac users bring along their machines and you set
them up with a newbie-friendly Linux distribution.
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Alternatively, you could give a presentation
explaining why Free Software is good for society and
encourages sharing. It’s a great way to demonstrate
that our community isn’t just a gaggle of geeks
fiddling with code via the internet – we’re real people
trying to make the world better.
This year’s Software Freedom Day will take place on
20 September, so to start your own event or join an
existing team, visit www.softwarefreedomday.org.
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player very soon: it’s
BANSHEE 3.0
Hopefully we’ll see
version 3.0 of this
awesome music
being ported to GTK 3,
and will also support
synchronisation with
Symbian devices. 37 bug
fixes have been made
since the 2.6 release too.
ENLIGHTENMENT
E19
The next release of the
world’s fanciest window
manager will bring a new
compositor and better
Wayland integration.
Lead developer
Rasterman hopes to
“close the feature
window sometime in
February”, so we’re likely
to see the final release
hit the internet some
time in the summer.
www.enlightenment.org
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15
EMBEDDED
LINUX
CONFERENCE
Cars, washing machines,
fridges, doorbells – you
name it, Linux is in it.
The development scene
for embedded Linux
devices is bustling, so if
you’ll be in San Jose
from 29 April – 1 May,
check this event out.
http://tinyurl.
com/4gvlozz
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www.linuxvoice.com